Running a CodeMeter network server – accessible over the Internet – may be useful if an office has more subsidiaries or a large number of workers working from home. With this solution they can use a central license key.

Available options

Advantages and disadvantages of a Public server

Advantages

The key is accessible from anywhere

Disadvantages

The access to the server needs to be controlled, the allowed client’s IP addresses have to set one by one. It is important to know that most of the internet service providers are distributing dynamic IP addresses – which makes hard to handle the rights

An active Internet connection is needed when ArchiCAD is running – any connection problem will prevent the client from using ArchiCAD

The network latency between the server and the client can slow down the work – ArchiCAD accesses the key after regular commands, and the user must wait for the server’s answer

Without setting the allowed IP addresses, anyone who knows the server’s IP address can use a license.

Network settings

Make sure that the defined port is open on the client’s firewall in both directions

If the client is behind a router or a gateway the port needs to be forwarded (In Wibu article you can read about how to set NAT/port forwarding: Using Wibu key Over the Internet)

Managing the rights – who can use a license from the server

In CodeMeter WebAdmin/Configuration/Access Control tab the allowed user IP addresses can be defined. The empty list means that anyone can use a license form the server.

Sometimes a re-plug of the key is needed to run the server with new access rights.

Advantages and disadvantages of a VPN Connection

Advantages

The key can be accessed only by users who can access the VPN network, CodeMeter server side access control may not even be required

The CodeMeter server is not a publicly available server

Disadvantages

A VPN solution is required that needs to be set up correctly

The VPN connection needs to be alive for the time of the ArchiCAD usage – network licenses, or for the period of license borrowing and returning – this also means that for these periods active Interned connection is required as in the previous case

Setting up the connection

The required setup is quite similar to the previous – public – case. The server needs to be set up and then the VPN connection needs to be fine tuned to allow the communication between the clients and the server. In case only those have access to the VPN network who should be able to use a license from the CodeMeter server the server side access control possibility can be even skipped.

Borrowing and returning of licenses should be tested as described here.

Related content

If your firm has multiple (network) licenses to use ArchiCAD or other GRAPHISOFT programs, the License Borrowing feature allows individual users to “borrow” a license key temporarily if they will be going offsite, to enable use of the software even…

Here you can find a summary of the functions accessible from CodeMeter WebAdmin administrative page. Only the necessary functions are explained, so please do not change the others without reading Wibu's manual (can be found at the bottom of this page)…

We differentiate two cases: whether the network has DNS server or not. Your system administrator can help to decide which one features your office. In case you share the internet with only a simple router you probably do not have DNS server. There is a…

ForWikiEditors : ToDo/ - check and update article Here is a collections of "tricks" that Technical Support has heard of for getting VPN to work. We do not have the resources to test these ideas. Hopefully one will be of help to you. WIBU or CodeMeter and…

Situation to solve One of my colleagues was trying to work at home but she had no working wibu key on her. I was also working at my home but I had a network Wibu-key with more licenses than I needed. So the goal was to share my network Wibu-key so that…

What does this value show? This value shows when a not responding license will be reset on a CodeMeter server. Until the end of this period the license is unavailable when the client lose the connection with the server. The default time out time is…